Feature: A warm fight in snowy night

CHANGCHUN, March 20 (Xinhua) -- A spring snow several days ago has clad Jilin, a northeastern Chinese province covered in a blanket of white, and added extra weight on its tough fight against a new wave of COVID-19 uprise.

The once most bustling Guilin Road business district has been brought to a standstill, except for the orderly queue for nucleic acid testing, after a heavy snowfall in Changchun, the capital city.

Jilin has been hit hard by the COVID-19 resurgence, with single-day new infections tallying over 1,000.

Though most of the infections are mild and asymptomatic cases, several rounds of massive nucleic acid testing were soon organized to race against the cunning virus and contain its spread.

Three lines were formed in a community near Guilin Road, with one being a "green channel."

"Some students have online classes, and time is tight. Some people are not suitable for queuing for too long," said Zhong Liping with the community office.

A mother with a kid was guided to the green channel. "It was so cold that I almost froze. I was happy that my kid could finish the test quickly," said the mother surnamed Gao. "It makes me feel very distressed watching the community workers stand there for a whole day."

Zhong and her colleagues had been working nearly 20 hours a day for days on end, staying in nearby hotels on call instead of going home. "Once the other day, I only slept two hours, while the rest of the time, I could sleep four to five hours a day," said Zhong.

Every medical worker responsible for detecting nucleic acids takes about 1,000 samples a day, and after each test, thorough disinfection of hands must be carried out.

"The community workers are working too hard. We've got to be cooperative and queue up orderly," shouted a man in the line.

The pandemic has further narrowed the distance between community workers and residents. "Many people didn't know what we do, but now they fully understand and recognize our work," said Zhong. "A child brought us a bottle of hot water today, which is really heart-warming."